CSA admits culture of blunders

Families have been cheated of money and caused huge stress by the Child Support Agency through its culture of making deliberate administrative blunders.

Staff at the CSA have admitted making up National Insurance numbers, deleting awkward files, using out-of-date information and knowingly holding up cases in an effort to deal with their workload.

An anonymous study of management practice at the agency also found staff were prepared to transfer cases to colleagues on long-term sick leave to get themselves clear and put difficult calls through to answering machines.

A report giving first-hand accounts of the ploys used to cope with the CSA's administrative overload was commissioned by the Department for Work and Pensions last year.

A CSA spokesman said: "This report is based on research carried out early 2004. Since then the service to clients has improved following action taken by the agency to improve levels of customer service."